WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to require U.S. companies to disclose the use of minerals sourced from war-torn Central Africa.
The Wednesday decision was a move to leverage U.S. economic power to bolster human rights efforts in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo where the mining of the minerals helps finance armies, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
"We as a nation, as consumers and as industry have a responsibility to ensure that our activity in the global marketplace does not support or perpetuate violence," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said.
The new regulations require U.S. companies to disclose the use of gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum mined in and around the DRC. SEC also enacted rules requiring publicly traded companies to reveal payments made to governments for the extraction of oil, natural gas or other important natural resources, the Times reported.
Some business and trade groups have opposed the measure, saying the $5 billion initial cost to comply is too high.
"We can't shoot ourselves in the foot if we want our businesses to compete in a global marketplace," said Tom Quaadman, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.
